Newport council approves FY2025 budget changes, raises school operating support to 3.35% and adopts tiered tax rates

The Newport City Council voted to approve a revised FY2025 budget change sheet on a voice vote, increasing the school operating appropriation to an effective 3.35% and adopting a two-tier property tax structure that differentiates owner-occupied and non-owner-occupied rates.

The council’s action followed a public hearing in which School Committee and school officials pressed for a 4% increase to cover staff and program needs. Louisa Boatwright, speaking for the school committee, and Colleen Burns Germaine, who identified herself as superintendent, described improved attendance and test results and urged the council to approve a larger allocation than the original 2% in the city proposal.

Council debate focused on specific tradeoffs on the change sheet: administration proposed delaying or eliminating several new positions—among them a deputy city manager and some proposed communications and resilience staff—to free up funds for school support. The administration said the proposal reflected an effort to reallocate limited funds toward the schools while preserving critical city functions. Laura Citron, speaking for city management, described vacancy-factor assumptions and the split between salary and benefits in the proposed positions.

Councilor David Carlin and others pressed to restore public‑safety positions such as a deputy police chief, while other members argued that positions such as a communications assistant would enable broader outreach, grant-seeking and longer-term revenue generation. Councilor Marco Romley and several colleagues argued for greater staffing to meet a growing municipal workload; Councilor Carlin moved to eliminate multiple proposed hires and reassign money to reach the schools’ full 4% request, but that motion failed on a voice vote.

After additional procedural motions and a brief reconsideration, the council approved the change sheet and then passed the ordinance appropriating revenues on second reading. City staff confirmed the adopted two-tier tax rates and explained that the tax relief and replacement resolution set the levy at the level allowed by state law while using an exemption so that most homeowners with properties at or below roughly $1.2 million would not see a tax increase.

Finance director Jim Nolan cautioned against using fund balance to cover recurring operating costs, saying doing so could lower the city’s credit rating and increase borrowing costs; the council and administration said they will continue searching for combinations of reserves, revenue adjustments and savings to balance priorities.

The council also approved the personnel ordinance and a second-reading change to sewer system usage fees that sets a base consumption level intended to protect year‑round residents, and it voted to adopt a multi-part omnibus property-tax resolution and to order the levy for collection.

The council ended the budget segment by moving on to other business, including a separate capital request from the school building committee for the Rogers High School project. The council’s approval of the change sheet preserves most of the administration’s proposed staffing while directing a larger near-term school allocation than originally proposed; council members signaled continued attention to both school needs and long-term municipal capacity.